The China Order: Centralia, World Empire, and the Nature of Chinese Power

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This may be the first book to uncover the strategic intent of the rising china from the perspective of ‘the China Order’, the idealization of international relations as conceived or imagined by the Chinese people. Put simply, this is how the Chinese people understand international relations. According to the author, the China Order which represents an authoritarian and usually totalitarian global order, is the order of Chinese empire. It began in the Qin-Han Polity, developed and consolidated through centuries of dynastic rules and indoctrination. Wang explicates the evolution and nature of China Order by re-examining and re-interpreting the histories of china at great length.After all, Wang unequivocally asserts that the rising China is surely a revisionist power, a stark oppositional force against the post-war American-led liberal international world order. As a political ideology and entrenched tradition of the Chinese people, the China Order is still alive and affecting the behaviors and policy preferences of the current PRC leaders. Accordingly, President Xi’s China Dream is in reality a manifestation and regeneration of the China Order. Thus, the national regeneration of the Chinese people naturally pushes the rising China to the direction of seeking regional hegemony in the same way as the Chinese empire ruled over the then known world many centuries ago.The extent to what the current Chinese leaders embrace Wang’s China Order is surely uncertain. However, for the sake of regime survival, pursuing regional hegemony may be the surest way to find a place safe for PRC authoritarianism if power allows. On the other hand, highlighting the idea of China Order only gives the impression of a propaganda campaign for boosting the ‘China Threat’.

I read the Chinese version. It's a great book. Solidly rooted in historical learning both east and west yet providing a whole new and credible angle to view Chinese history and perhaps more importantly assessing the incumbent power in light of such learning.To me, and actually the author claims so, the chapter on Song Dynasty is the most important one as Song’s achievements and uniqueness starkly bring out the evils of the traditional China Order. Song is the most underrated dynasty and is ignored or even distorted for ideological reasons. Yet based on solid historical evidence, including learning from Joseph Needham, the author was able to convincingly bring out the strong message that ”China”, or rather the majority of the human beings living in that geographical area, would be happiest when it was not obsessed with ”National (Han) Revival”, ”territorial integrity” and regional or even global hegemony.The reviewer who gave it a not so good review seems to have missed this point.

I read this book recently and was extremely pleased at the level of depth to be gained from the work. The explanations of chinese cultural concepts such as tianxia (all under heaven) and zhongguo (middle kingdom) allowed me a glimpse into a world that I am being forced to confront more and more frequently in my life. Anyone looking for a brief history of ancient China and a more thorough discussion of how those cultural roots influence modern China should pick up this book today.

It is an enlightening book, providing us with a whole new perspective to look at Chinese history and to better understand the current political climate in Mainland China which is under the deep influence of the China order. It is a book to open your eyes to something you would never get chance to learn from any book published in China. Definitely mind-blowing!